Aisholt

Aisholt is certainly situated in beautiful surroundings and you can
understand why the poet Coleridge wanted to live there. His wife Sara
was not so keen. As Coleridge wrote to Thomas Poole of Nether Stowey,

"The situation is delicious; all I could wish,
but Sara being Sara, and I being I, we must live in a town or else close
to one, so that she may have neighbours and acquaintances. For my friends
form not that society which is of itself sufficient to a woman."

Aisholt was also a favourite place for another poet, Sir Henry Newbolt.
He often stayed here, at the bottom of the lane, in a cottage which had
been inherited by his wife. This fine thatched cottage, which has been
lovingly restored, remains a building of great charm, it is also known
as the 'Old Schoolhouse' and possibly the site of the chantry priest's
house in an earlier age. Newbolt called the village "that beloved
valley", you can certainly understand why he wished the village would
remain unspoiled, and to a great extent it is.

The name Aisholt itself is believed to refer to the ash woods that surround
the village. Both Aish and Ash are used in the parish records. The village
retains an unspoiled atmosphere and you can often see deer grazing either
on the common or in the fields above the church. On my last visit, before
writing this piece, I was lucky enough to see a herd of about 20 deer
in the field just above the small church. It was around this village that
some filming was done for the film Pandaemonium, as it appears unchanged
since the days that Coleridge and Wordsworth wandered its steep valleys.

The Church Of All Saints

In the steep graveyard you look down onto the church of All Saints and
out onto a breathtaking view. The church, in Coleridge's "green romantic
chasm" of Aisholt, is a small and simple building in a peaceful setting.
From its position on the high rising hillside above the Canning brook
it typifies a church with an ancient past and it is thought that it was
probably founded by a hermit priest before the Norman Conquest. The lonely
site, together with the shape and size of the nave of the church is similar
to Cornish and Welsh churches built between the 5th and 8th centuries.

The Building has been altered over time, the chancel arch and the tower
were probably rebuilt during the 15th century, and the battlements may
have been added a little later. The roof of the nave and aisle are also
15th century and have fine examples of timbering and windbraces. In the
church there is a large chest " the Dug-out Chest". Its simplicity,
as well as the iron work, suggests that it was made in the Norman time,
it is an oak log chipped out with a slice cut to use for its lid. Chests
like this were left in churches, to house church plate, deeds and the
wills of the parishioners in a safe location. This has proved very useful
for local historians since, once installed in the chest, documents would
often remain undisturbed for centuries and because of this many gems of
local history have been discovered. As with other church chests three
locks are required, held by the vicar and churchwardens, all three having
to be present before the chest could be opened.

On the west wall is a Tithe Map that shows how parishes were divided.
Another famous family, that of Admiral Blake's, are buried under the nave
and most of his family lived in nearby Plainsfield, where they owned a
lot of land. The church organ is one of only 3 known organs, made in 1820
by Samuel Parsons of Bloomsbury London. The organ attracts expert organists,
as it is a difficult one to play and can challenge even the best.

Of the many vicars that looked after the parish of Aisholt, the name
of William Holland lives on, largely because he wrote about his life.
He was the rector of Over Stowey during the time of Coleridge, and his
diaries have been published under the interesting title "Paupers
and Pig Killers"(Alan Sutton 1984 edited by Jack Ayres). From reading
his diaries you get a flavour of what life was like at the beginning of
the 19th century in this beautiful but remote location. Holland mentions
one of the rectors of Aisholt, Reeks (Rix),

"Mr
Reeks died last night in the horrors he killed himself by drinking "

Holland looked after the church at Aisholt when Reeks was unwell! He was
a very diligent parson and would struggle through snow and floods to serve
the people of the parish of Aisholt. One other rector that must be recalled
is that of the Reverend Arthur Moss, vicar from 1969 to 1989, who sadly
died in 1995 at the age of 80years. In the church there is a booklet written
by him about the history of the church, full of interesting information.

Aisholt Wood

This ancient oak woodland is now owned by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
It is one of three Nature reserves that they manage on the Quantock hills.
It is of about 41 acres and it has open access. The entrance to the reserve
is via a bridleway that runs behind the thatched old schoolhouse. It is
recommended that one sticks to the path so as not to disturb the wildlife.
The Trust's intention is to lay down a circular path/ visitor's trail
in the lower part of the reserve for visitors to enjoy the beauty of this
broad-leaved woodland in its steep sided Quantock combe.

There are many varieties of trees and they vary considerably in age.
The canopy is dominated by sessile oaks characteristic of wooded Quantock
combes, but here there is a greater variation than in most. There is a
lot of evidence showing how man has exploited the wood in the past, hedgebanks
run round part of the perimeter so that livestock would be kept out, especially
after coppicing. There are also many charcoal hearths suggesting that
the wood was heavily coppiced for charcoal and the tracks that can be
seen were probably laid down by the charcoal burners, or colliers as they
were known. From the correspondence of the Quantock estate it is known
that the ripping of oak bark for the tanning industry was still taking
place during the 1890's in Aisholt woods. The other industry that made
use of the woods was that of brush making and up until the early 1900's
there were a number of 'broomsquires', or brush-makers, living in the
area. Since then, due to the poor access, little exploitation of this
area has taken place.

The Somerset Trust hopes to enhance both the conservation and landscape
value of this beautiful ancient woodland. Visitors please note, this is
an environmentally sensitive landscape - I am sure that you will follow
the country code.